Just wondering does anyone else seem to perfirm a workout poorly after a recovery week. I seem to perform far better in the middle of a plan than i do after coming back from a week of recovery.
1 Like
Common. The drop from intensity can lead to “dead legs” and tough feeling when returning to those harder intensity workouts. That is a reason that recovery weeks are different than taper weeks. It is also a reason that using Opener workouts are “a thing” that some riders like to do to at the start, before hopping back into the work weeks.
5 Likes
Is a tapering week something you only do coming up to races? And what do you mean opening workout? Is that the day before or immediately before?
This is a common occurrence for me as well. Coming off of rest week, then a complete day off before my next ramp test left me unmotivated and lacking strength. I pushed through the ramp test and gained 6w on my ftp (324-330). I feel I could do a bit better if I would have ridden the day before, but this is how I’ve done my precious two tests, and I’m trying to keep each test uniform for best results.
I have the same issue.
As a consequence, the ramp test after the rest week, scheduled for Tuesdays, I don’t usually perform well.
The last time, two weeks ago, after the rest week of the SSBMVI. I had to abort Tuesday’s test, and repeat it on Wednesday with better sensations.
For people with this problem, should we reprogram the week of the test? For example with an opener workout the day before the test on Monday?
Thanks
2 Likes
- Yes, tapering is a process of specific workouts with an aim to reduce overall fatigue, but keep you sharp for a race.
- An Opener is done about 24 hours before your race.
- A Warm Up is done the same day as your race, just a bit before the start
1 Like
- Very individual, but I suggest that people adjust as needed.
- I often use Truuli -2 as an opener the day before my Ramp Test. I did this just this week and had a great test. But I have also done the Ramp on the heals of a full rest day. I play it by ear with what I think will suit me best each time.
- I have also had swapped the Tue and Thur workouts during test week. Done the Thur workout on Tues, followed by the easy Wed workout, and felt great for the Ramp on Thur.
There are many options and it’s worth experimenting to see if something works better for you than the default setup.
1 Like
Thank you. Very useful info.
I Will try.
Yeah great info. I have found even out on the road if i took 3 days off i wouldn’t feel great on 1st day back but if i was on my 3rd day in a row out on the road , on the 3rd day i am performing better than any day.
1 Like
I’ve found my legs don’t feel great after a rest week, typically they feel best and perform best at around -5 TSB for me.
-5 TSB??? What is that.
As I understand it, his legs feel better when he’s a little fatigued instead of well rested
1 Like
Yeah I seem to race better with a bit of fatigue too
1 Like
Little update just. After rest week my ftp test gave me 214 which i was disappointed with, only up 1 watt!!! I then done a mix of SS mainly for a week and started Build today and carpathian over unders were pretty manageable and in the last 12 min interval i had it up by 4% so maybe my ftp is a little low,
Double your check your trainer/power meter calibration (been an issue for me lately and has made a large difference). Also, check out this thread —> (Kolie Moore's FTP test protocol). I’ve been using it for awhile and it seems to give me a reliable FTP number.